The First Word: Pain

On this day — Newly announced budget cuts from TDCJ serve as a reminder of the state’s current budget pain; new worries about the pain Texans will feel as an increasing population overwhelms the state’s deteriorating infrastructure; and a probable new entrant into the race for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s seat

*Who Needs Reintegration*

Texas Department of Criminal Corrections announced they were cutting reintegration programs, which help inmates readjust to society after release from prison, as part of a bid to reduce expenses by $40 million for the current fiscal year. The cuts were announced by state leaders late last year in a bid to reduce state spending to avoid a year-end budget deficit.

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, slammed TDJC for cutting its rehabilitation programs for those inmates.

“What people need to understand is that criminal justice is a system, it’s not just about locking them up.” Whitmire. “You either pay now or pay later,”

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*Growing Pains*

Former state demographer Steve Murdoch will speak at a forum hosted by MALC and open to all lawmakers and the press tomorrow about the challenges facing the state; Gary Scharrer reports:

Demographer Steve Murdock will meet with Texas lawmakers today (Thursday) to discuss the state’s changing population and its future impact. Murdock, who served as director of the U.S. Census Bureau in the George W. Bush Administration, has warned Texans that – unless the trend line changes – 1 out of every 3 Texas workers will not have a high school diploma by 2040

And that warning came before the preliminary budget proposal to severely cut funding for Pre-K and TEXAS grants. Murdock says the only way to address the dire trend line is for Texas to ramp up its education – starting with more high quality Pre-K and more TEXAS grants.

In a speech that was more political launch pad than polite farewell, Mayor Tom Leppert told the Dallas City Council on Wednesday that he will leave office by the end of the day Friday.

He also promised “in the next several days” to announce plans for his political future, widely understood to be a run for the 2012 Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

Leppert, who leaves office four months shy of completing his first term, said he believes history will look back on the past four years as a time of great progress in Dallas, and he thanked the city’s residents for electing him.

Leppert is widely expected to announce that he’s jumping into the race to replace retiring US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Polling released earlier this week by The Texas Tribune suggests Republican voters aren’t sold on thought-to-be frontrunner Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who has said he’s looking into running for the Senate seat. Dewhurst has a fortune of more than half a billion dollars, which would allow him to self finance his campaign.

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*EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!*

- Peggy Fikac reports on a new Senate committee that is charged with updating Texas’ open records laws to reflect the capabilities of new technology.